One dead as MASSOB, Igbo youths clash

One person was reportedly killed when members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) clashed with members of the Association of Igbo Youths Organisation (AIYO) in Onitsha, Anambra State.

Several others were injured in the attack, which allegedly occurred in a forest on the Onitsha-Owerri Expressway.

A source said the MASSOB members invaded an “illegal torture camp”, which allegedly belongs to AIYO inside the forest to dislodge them.

The police confirmed the incident but insisted that there was no casualty.

Police spokesman Emeka Chukwuemeka said the presence of the police and other security agents on the scene was to maintain law and order.

He called on MASSOB and AIYO members to maintain the peace and called on the public to go about their businesses without fear.

MASSOB’s Director of Information Uchenna Madu confirmed the operation but denied any death.

Madu said MASSOB, acting on complaints from the public about the activities of AIYO, moved in to restore peace and security in Onitsha.

He said: “MASSOB, as the genuine Igbo group genuinely fighting for Ndigbo, has heard reports of rape, kidnapping, illegal arrest and detention and robberies by a group of miscreants who call themselves AIYO members.

“We decided to move into the illegal camps where even security agents could not enter and as I am talking to you, we have taken over the area and dislodged them.

“These boys were also responsible for crimes on the Onitsha-Owerri Road and other parts of Onitsha. Several times, they had kidnapped people, including our men, took them to these “illegal torture camps”, where the victims were forced to part with money and other valuables to regain their freedom.

“When MASSOB stormed the camp, we discovered so many people kidnapped and tied to stakes.”

But an AIYO member, who pleaded for anonymity, accused MASSOB members of trying to dominate Igbo land, adding that AIYO was working for the government through its national leader, Rommy Ezeonwuka.

“MASSOB, in its usual criminal way, invaded some camps of our members around 2am yesterday, wielding weapons and brutalised our members.

“The members burnt the makeshift camp we use as our operational base.

“They said AIYO is an illegal group but they forgot that we are the only group recognised by the Anambra State Government through our national leader, Rommy Ezeonwuka (Ogirishi Igbo),” he said.